1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a lens array, a method for manufacturing a lens array, an electro-optical device, an electronic apparatus, and the like.
2. Related Art
Electro-optical devices which are provided with an electro-optical material such as a liquid crystal between an element substrate and a counter substrate are known. Examples of electro-optical devices include liquid crystal devices, which are used as a liquid crystal light bulb in a projector, and the like. There is a demand for realizing high light utilization efficiency in such liquid crystal devices.
A liquid crystal device is provided with TFT elements which drive pixel electrodes, wiring, and the like in pixels on an element substrate and a light shielding layer is provided so as to be planarly overlapped therewith. Due to this, a portion of incident light is shielded by the light shielding layer and not used. Therefore, as described in JP-A-2004-70282, a configuration is known which improves light utilization efficiency by concentrating incident light with microlenses by providing a microlens array in which microlenses are arranged in at least one of an element substrate and a counter substrate in a liquid crystal device.
However, there is a problem that light utilization efficiency is poor in the microlens array according to JP-A-2004-70282. A solid angle of a luminous flux which is output from the liquid crystal device may be large even when the liquid crystal device is provided with the microlens array. When a liquid crystal device which is provided with such a microlens array is used as a liquid crystal light bulb of a projector, a wide angle of light which is output from a liquid crystal device may exceed an angle of incidence regulated by an F value of a projector lens. In this case, a portion of light which is output from the liquid crystal device is not incident on the projector lens and as a result, the amount of light which is projected on a screen decreases. This problem is serious, especially in the microlens array according to JP-A-2004-70282, and even when a microlens array is used, improvement in the brightness is limited.
In other words, the microlens array of the related art has a problem in that it is difficult to sufficiently increase the light utilization efficiency.